Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Winners! And Stay Creative Every Day Tip #6: Collage Your Way Out of Anything

Congratulations to these lovely people, and I hope you all go to visit their sites and get to know them better. I'd also like to extend my thanks and best wishes to everyone who's following and/or recently joined up. Nice to have you on board; keep looking out for the next giveaway!

In the meantime, here's Tip #6 from Stay Creative Every Day: Collage your way out of anything.

I use collage for my novels, art journals, visual art projects, and as an art form on its own.Collage has helped me to visualize my goals, dress my characters, decorate my story settings, and illustrate my plots.Sometimes it’s just about the colors, putting together what speaks to my mood or emotions.At other times a collage becomes a complete reference on its own, one that inspires me to write or paint it out fully.

To me creativity is all about problem solving, and collage is a great way to get the ball rolling. It's easy, it's cheap, it's accessible--free magazines, junk mail, old manuscripts, photos, memorabilia, it's all there for the taking.

Although I've written extensively about how to use magazine cut-outs and other collage techniques to enhance your writing and creativity, there's still no end to what you can use collage for. Here are 12 more ideas to help you in a pinch:

1. Create your ideal story, artwork, or life in the form of a vision board.

2. Try it as a medium to illustrate your poetry or children's book manuscript.

3. Create a visual aid for a pitch when meeting with an editor or agent.

4. Or to tell your bio in a whole new way--through pictures.

5. Along the same lines, instead of a boring list of credits, create a collage of your book covers or magazine bylines. Put it all together with your bio into a "1-sheet."

6. What is your story ABOUT? Find images when you can't articulate.

7. Use collage on your website or blog to create more visual interest.

8. Make your own greeting cards, gift bags, and tags. Bookmarks, too.

9. Make your office more interesting with collaged file folders and journal covers.

10. Why stop at the paperwork? How about collaging over your furniture items such as filing cabinets or end tables? Or even cushions?

11. Keep your children occupied and creative while you're busy with your own writing or painting. Collaborate!

12. Use collage as the basis for your book trailer.

Tip of the Day: Happy Valentine's Day! And what better way to celebrate than with a handmade Valentine? Collaged, of course. Gotta keep those glue sticks busy!

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About Me

I'm the author of 8 books and write across the genres. My last novel, OVERTAKEN, is a literary Gothic set in Greece, London, and all the spaces of the imagination. My books for young readers include BETTER THAN PERFECT, a YA set in New Zealand, and THE GREAT SCARAB SCAM, an Egyptian mystery for the middle grades. I hope to have my new novel, GHAZAL, finished by the end of the year. When I'm not writing, I enjoy working with hand-built pottery, watercolors, found poetry, and collage.